AECEN has been commissioned to maintain an environmental impact assessment (EIA) clearinghouse to facilitate knowledge capture and dissemination of information on international and regional best practices in EIA implementation.

The State of the Tropics report will consider the question: Is life in the tropics getting better?
The report will analyse a range of environmental, social and economic indicators to answer this question. The analysis will shine a bright light on a variety of key issues and provide a foundation for policy makers, geopolitical analysts and other stakeholders to examine in greater detail the tropics and the major issues affecting it.
Given these multiple dimensions, answers to the fundamental question are likely to be positive for some aspects and negative for others. Furthermore, people hold different values and what is viewed as progress by some will be seen as regress by others. That is, the concept of progress is influenced by an individual’s perspective. The Report will also identify major challenges for the Zone, recognising that it is important the focus is not too negative, and includes a discussion of opportunities.
State of the Tropics will be a dispassionate, statistical analysis of a range of statistical indicators that will reveal trends and areas where progress is being made or lost. Data will be gathered from existing collections from authoritative sources and there will be no new data collection. An indicators data base will be developed and made available publicly, with annual data updates.
For completeness, the Report will examine issues that bind the different parts of the Zone together. Geography is clearly one element in common, and another is climate. Consequently, climate and climate change and its economic, social and environmental impacts will be examined.
A five yearly State of the Tropics report will be published, and will be supplemented by an annual State of the Tropics paper focusing on a key issue in the tropical world.
For universities and research institutions focused on the tropics, this is our place, and we share a responsibility to work with and for the people of the tropics, to bring to bear the power of our understanding, science and innovation on the issues of the tropics to create a brighter future for the tropics and its peoples. This is the main rationale for producing the State of the Tropics Report......Section 1 – Foreword, Executive Summary and Introduction (4.1mb)...
Section 2 – The Ecosystem (8.8mb)...
Section 3 – The Human System (15.6mb)...
Download the report with single page views (easier to print):
Section 1 – Foreword, Executive Summary and Introduction (5.2mb)...
Section 2 – The Ecosystem (12.5mb)...
Section 3 – The Human System (Health, Education and Work) (11mb)...
Section 3 – The Human System (Economy and Governance) (11mb).

"...This document represents the ecosystem profile for the Indo-Burma Hotspot, which
comprises all non-marine parts of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and
Vietnam, plus parts of southern China. With its high levels of plant and animal
endemism, and limited remaining natural habitat, Indo-Burma ranks among the top 10
biodiversity hotspots for irreplaceability and the top five for threat. Indo-Burma holds
more people than any other hotspot, and its remaining natural ecosystems, already greatly
reduced in extent, are subject to intense and growing pressure from habitat loss,
degradation and fragmentation, and over-exploitation of natural resources...A total of 753 species outcomes, 509 site outcomes and 66 corridor outcomes were
defined for the hotspot. Among these, 151 species, 74 sites and four corridors were
prioritized for conservation investment. The priority species represent a significant
increase over the 67 identified in the original ecosystem profile. This can be attributed
largely to the inclusion, for the first time, of priority plant species, and the expansion of
the analysis to include Myanmar, home to a suite of species not found elsewhere in the
hotspot..."

To assist AECEN Members and others in promoting improved environmental compliance and enforcement in Asia, AECEN has adopted a set of regional principles that are based on international law and national experiences in Asia, and worldwide. Based on a consultative process with Members and other experts, the principles reflect national experiences in Asia, and worldwide. In applying the principles, AECEN Members and other agencies develop courses of action based on their own legal and institutional frameworks, developmental policies and priorities, and available resources."..... Introduction...
Institutional Arrangements...
Planning, Performance and Evaluation...
Compliance Monitoring, Inspection and Permitting...
Enforcement Response...
Compliance Promotion and Incentives...
Public Participation